Hylda Baker
Birth name	Hilda Baker
Born	February 04 1905(1905--)  England Farnworth, Lancashire [1]
Died	May 01 1986 (aged 81)  England Epsom, Surrey [2]
Occupation	Comedy actress

Hylda Baker (February 4, 1905 in Farnworth, Lancashire - May 1, 1986 in Epsom, Surrey) was a British comedy actress.

The eldest of seven children, she was a child performer and wrote, produced, directed and starred in her own shows for many years. Famous for her catchphrase: "She knows you know" which stemmed from her music hall days, Baker is probably best known for her role in the ITV television series Nearest and Dearest (1968-1972). Her character Nellie Pledge (co-owner of a Lancashire pickle factory, Pledge's Purer Pickles), was ideally suited to her talents and she was cast opposite the comedian Jimmy Jewel. A theatrical version appeared in 1972 (produced by Hammer Films), followed by a near sequel Not On Your Nellie (1973-1975), in which she played a similar character (Nellie Pickersgill) who moved to London to take charge of her ailing father's pub.

For her role in Nearest and Dearest, she received special recognition at the 1969 Austrailian World Television Festival.

She also had parts in a number of films including Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Up the Junction, and Lionel Bart's Oliver!.

In 1978, Baker recorded a spoof version of "You're The One That I Want" (from the musical Grease) with fellow British comedian Arthur Mullard. Released shortly after John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's version had spent 9 weeks at the top of the UK singles chart, Baker and Mullard's version was also a hit, though a more modest one. The single peaked at no.22, though the pair did make an infamous appearance on Top Of The Pops. The B-side to the single was their version of the Brotherhood of Man's 1976 hit "Save Your Kisses For Me".

Baker died in 1986 in relative poverty and obscurity after battling against dementia for a number of years, believing herself to be Nellie Pledge, the character who brought her so much fame.

References

External links

• Hylda Baker at the Internet Movie Database

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